Tuesday: 2 US Soldiers, 14 Iraqis Killed; 20 Iraqis Wounded

At least 14 Iraqis were killed and 20 more were wounded. Two U.S. soldiers were killed in separate incidents as well. Meanwhile, Turkey continued to pound northern Iraq with air strikes. Also, Iraq has now formally approved the provincial elections law, while U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte visited the country on a diplomatic mission.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari held a joint press conference with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte in Baghdad. Zebari reiterated that Iraq and the U.S. are close to finalizing a new security agreement but the same stumbling blocks remain. The main issue is immunity from prosecution for American soldiers and contractors. Iran, meanwhile, expressed its opposition to the deal.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and vice presidents Tareq al-Hashemi and Adel Abdul-Mahdi formally approved a provincial elections law that will allow voting to take place across Iraq on Jan. 31, 2009. The one exception is Kirkuk where squabbling over a power-sharing scheme continues. The president also asked parliament to reinstate a provision that allows a minority quota on provincial councils.

Turkish jets again bombed suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) locations in northern Iraq. No casualties were reported, but accurate figures out of the sparsely populated region are difficult to obtain. It was the fourth day of retaliatory air strikes that began with a major clash between Turkish soldiers and PKK separatists on Friday.